Tony Gemignani to open Pizza School in San Francisco's North Beach District

[Essen1]

Exciting news for the hobby pie makers in the Bay Area!

Tony G. is opening a Pizza School in the North Beach Neighborhood in San Francisco. North Beach is the Italian Quarter of SF. The scholl will hopefully open in May and is located in the former now defunct "Lou's at the Square" location at 1570 Stockton St @ Union.


From Tablehopper:

"My North Beach stringer had some exciting news about what’s moving into the short-lived Lou’s at the Square space, formerly Avenue G and La Felce. Let’s just say this is the kind of concept I think is going to work very well: ~TONY’S PIZZA NAPOLETANA~. And not just any Tony, but Tony Gemignani of Pyzano’s in Castro Valley, the well-known world cup pizza cup (2007) and nine-time world pizza champion, pizza acrobat, and the first-time winner outside of Naples to claim the title of best Neapolitan pizza at the Trofeo Città di Napoli Campionato Internazionale Per Pizzaioli. I know, dude. He’s opening the project with partners Bruno Di Fabio, who owns pizzerias in Connecticut, and Nancy Puglisi.

So, the concept: during the day, it will be the ~INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PIZZA~. Gemignani, a certified master from the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli, will be certifying chefs in Classic Italian, Neapolitan, and Roman pizza styles, plus New York, California, and Chicago styles. Gemignani is the first master instructor and U.S.-based representative of the Scuola to open a location in the U.S. Some Italian masters will fly in to teach courses as well. There will also be two-day courses for home chefs, kids, and senior citizens. As for the ovens, there will be a special wood-burning oven, a Cirigliano that Gemignani won from the Naples competition, plus a brick oven, and Italian electric oven—all three styles of oven are needed for classes at the school.

For dinner, there will be traditional Neapolitan, Italian, and American classic pizzas on the menu, plus some pastas, dessert, and there’s a full bar. And yes, it will feature an open kitchen, with Gemignani working alongside other professional pizza makers. Ingredients will be a mix of imported and local ingredients. The owners are really excited to be opening in North Beach, and hope to make it happen by May. 1570 Stockton St. at Union.


http://www.internationalschoolofpizza.com/

[SteveInOakland]

I was one of the students in Tony's first professional certification class, receiving 5 days of intense pizzaiolo training.  The facility is top notch with the students able to use a top-of-the line wood, gas, and electric oven during the training/  We made multiple dough batches, using direct methods and Biga dough, with italian and american flour (high and lower protein.

This is an amazing facility, with access to instructors who really are masters.  I highly recommend getting on the list of future students.  Feel free to contact me with questions.  I am actually a home chef, but felt honored to learn with the professionals who also attended.  Since Pizza is an art form, it amazes me that only a few schools exist, when there is a school of fine arts in almost every city in the US, and far more people purchase pizza than oil paintings...I am all for an renaissance in pizza making knowledge.  For what you get, this is a huge bargain.  Imagine taking a business class with Warren Buffet for a few hundred dollars per 8 hour day.